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Thursday, August 25, 2011

If cats could talk, they wouldn't

Hubby and I rescued a kitty from an animal shelter about 6 years ago. She was (and still is) cute, fuzzy, stripy and endowed with some serious cattitude.

When we got her home we put her in between us on the couch. We were eating dinner . . . Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and corn . . . and she immediately stuck her face into my mashed potatoes. She was (and still is) a meat and potatoes kitty.

As far as cattitude goes . . . she got it in spades. She looks all cute and sweet and innocent but beware! She’s a bapper, a bopper, a chomper, a stalker and a chaser. She’ll give you dirty looks when she’s pissed off, shark eyes when she’s on the attack, innocent face when you know she’s done something evil. She’s a lot of fun.

So, I came across some fun facts about cats and I thought I’d try to apply them to our fuzzy baby girl.

Ambidexer-Cat?

You probably never thought about a cat as being either left- or right-pawed, but over 40 percent are either lefties or righties. That means there’s quite a few out there who are ambidextrous. Luckily for them, they can probably operate the can opener with both paws …

Yep, she’s ambidexercat for sure. When she goes in for the bap its all paws on deck. Bap bap bap. Thank goodness she doesn't have thumbs.

Warm or Cold?

Food that is. Cats don’t like their food too hot or too cold. They like it just right. And for them, just right is room temperature, just like their prey would be in the wild. Cats are indeed the Goldilocks of the animal world.

True . . . the Fuzz likes her food room temperature. If I give her something out of the fridge, she’ll let it warm up before she eats it. And, if we give her nibbles from our plates, she’ll let it cool off before she goes for it.

In Living Color

Cats see in color, so your new paisley frock in orange, purple, and yellow won’t be lost on them. They also have fantastic night vision, and only need one-sixth of the light humans require to see. So don’t go getting your cat night-vision goggles.

I don’t know if she’s a fan of my purple tee-shirt or not, but she can definitely see very well in the dark. Bap bap bap.

What’s in a Name?

A group of kittens is called a “kindle” (yes, just like that fancy new electronic book device available now), while a group of adult cats is called a “clowder.”

Well, since she’s only one cat then I guess she’s a clowd.

Meow?

We all know the meow sound, whether it’s questioning, scared, happy, or imperiously demanding dinner. Curiously, cats only meow at people, not at other cats.

This is interesting because I’ve actually only heard the Fuzz meow twice since we’ve had her . . . an outright meow, that is. She’ll whine and yowl and growl and even hiss on occasion. It’s funny that when she’s talking to you she almost always ends in a question.

Four-Legged Mood Rings

Cats are highly intuitive creatures, and they are more than able to pick up your mood, especially from your tone of voice. They know when you’re yelling at them (though they often don’t seem to care). If you need your cat to calm down, try speaking to her in a soothing, loving voice. You’ll be amazed.

She may know our moods but she doesn’t really give a sh!t. But if one of happens to be under the weather she tries to make us feel better by becoming a cuddle-kitten.

The Ultimate Strawberry Lemonade

(makes 2 pint-glass servings with ice)

3/4 cup sugar2 large lemons, microwaved for 30 seconds2 cups water1 cup of frozen strawberries, microwaved for 1 minute (you could use fresh, but I think the frozen works better here)

In a blender squeeze the lemons and add the rest of the lemon, rind and all. Pour in the water and sugar. Add the strawberries. Pulse until everything starts to come together and the rind is starting to be processed. Remove the blade (or place the entire contents of the blender into a microwavable pitcher) and microwave for another 2 minutes. You can do all of this on stove top if you’d prefer, but the microwave is easy and quick. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, then strain into glasses loaded with ice. Enjoy!

**Note: I like to microwave the lemons to release more of the juices, and microwaving the strawberries does the same sort of thing. I like to microwave it all together at the end to release more of the oils in the lemon rind as well as dissolve the sugar. Any of these things you could do on a stove.**

Add some vodka, ice and blend for a Seriously Ultimate Strawberry Lemonade!